From a psychological viewpoint tonight's result was massive, a loss under circumstances similar to others last season could create mental barriers that could linger with this group for a number of seasons. Yes we should have won the game by 10 goals which in itself is a disappointment but just the fact we won a close encounter is a positive. I got the feeling that in the last quarter the mental demons this group carries came to the forefront and it was this mental barrier especially against the Blues which then translated into pure physical fatigue. It was quite clear that we had stopped to a walk halfway through the last quarter. They will learn from this and with this game out of the way i think their minds will be much clearer and physically we shouldn't see the same sort of fade out as we saw tonight.
In terms of team structure i think Grimes when fit will be an invaluable acquisition to the team with Griffiths needing to be replaced as he is clearly not a natural defender. He definitely needs time spent back at Coburg as a forward which is where his future lies, trying to turn him into a defender was always a risk and tonight he was clearly short of the mark.
A win is a win and 4pts are invaluable, overall a number of boxes were ticked tonight, a lot more need to be ticked in the coming weeks but the graph is moving upward which at least is in the right direction.
